By Allan Lengel
The FBI reported more than 7,000 hate crimes in the U.S. in 2021, but that was far from the real story. With fewer police departments reporting those crimes, the numbers are woefully inaccurate.
USA Today reports that there are more than 18,000 police departments in the nation, but only 65 percent reported hate crimes in 2021. That’s down from 93 percent in 2020.
“Some jurisdictions fail to report hate crime statistics, while others claim there are no hate crimes in their community – a fact that would be welcome, if true,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate committee last month.
How inaccurate are the numbers?
Put it this way, New York and Los Angeles failed to provide data while Chicago reported zero incidents, USA Today reports, citing the FBI’s report.
